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Connecting Systems,
People and Processes
with Workflow
Three Steps to Automated Success
01
Connecting
Your Systems to
Increase Communication
02
Connecting People with
Documents and Information,
Automatically
03
Connecting Your Processes
to Optimize Them
Read On »
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Three Steps to Automated Success
Connecting Systems,
People and Processes
with Workflow
Excess demand is a fantastic problem.
Except when it’s demand for loan
documentation from auditors or
regulators. Or that excess demand is
causing internal bottlenecks, slowing
your loan process.
Right now, many lending
institutions are realizing they need
workflow capabilities beyond what their
core banking platforms provide. Maybe
they don’t know it yet, but they need
electronic document workflow to help
them automate and connect business
processes so they can handle loans
quicker and more efficiently as well as
easily provide documentation to external
stakeholders.
If you’re reading this, you’re one
of those lenders. But don’t despair. The
following three simple steps show you
how to use workflow to optimize your
processes and increase the speed and
accuracy of your lending institution. With
workflow, information is current, loans
happen quicker and documents are easy
to find and share.
You just need to answer one
question: Are you ready to stop relying
on paper and connect your organization
with instant access to information?
Step One | Three Steps to Automated Success
Connecting Your
Systems to Increase
Communication
01
As financial institutions rely more and
To better meet the needs of customers
more on technology, it’s imperative that
and members in a very competitive
systems can easily communicate. No
environment, financial institutions need
more silos.
to get as much value as possible out of
A recent article in Financial Times
existing technologies and resources. One
echoed this belief, because so many
of the most cost-effective options is to
financial institutions are dealing with
use electronic workflow to increase the
this very subject. “Digital efforts in many capabilities of your existing document
firms lack scale, are disjointed and are
management or enterprise content
often the pet project of one silo within
management (ECM) solution.
Workflow automates processes and
the organization,” it says.
the routing of documents, empowering
Systems that lack communication
slow things down. In an age of increasing your organization to work faster and
more efficiently. Since documents
digital connectedness, employees
are also easily accessible in a central
can become frustrated when the
technologies they rely on every day can’t database, there’s no more searching for
them. With information at their fingertips,
talk to each other. It also negatively
employees focus on organizational goals
affects business relationships outside
– like increasing your customer base.
the organization.
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Step One | Three Steps to Automated Success
Connecting Your
Systems to Increase
Communication
Tying systems to the bottom line
Let’s take a quick look at how workflow’s
ability to connect systems affects the
bottom line. Workflows begin with
events, like when you ingest a new loan
document into the system. Most loan
operations departments receive daily
“Paid Off” reports. At that point, they
determine if overpayment refunds are
required or if they need to release or
return collateral. Then they initiate record
retention periods for the loan files. It’s a
slow process, especially when employees
have to wait for paper documentation or
systems can’t share information.
Workflow speeds the process
dramatically by sharing that information
between systems, identifying process
triggers and then automatically
delivering the documents—and
related information—to the people
who need them. Everyone who needs
to see information receives an email
notification alert, letting them know that
work is ready to occur.
That’s how connecting your
systems increases communication,
speed and accuracy—ultimately affecting
the bottom line.
Connecting systems to make
them work for you
To connect your systems without
disruption, the right workflow solution
should be simple to configure and
easily integrate with your existing
systems, including your core banking,
loan origination and other critical line
of business systems­. This gives the
technologies you rely on every day the
ability to communicate seamlessly
with one another. You should also make
sure your workflow solution integrates
without custom coding, so when
you’re ready, you can easily expand it
on your own.
Step Two | Three Steps to Automated Success
Connecting People
With Documents
and Information,
Automatically
W
Now that we’ve looked at how
connecting your systems with
workflow helps rid your organization of
information silos—including those found
in your core banking or loan origination
platforms—let’s see how workflow
connects people with the information
they need by automating manual and
paper-based work processes.
First, let’s admit that no matter
how hard we try, some processes
still rely heavily on paper. And as much
as we’d like, we’ll never be rid of paper
entirely. But we can take steps to
electronically capture the information
on that paper, priming it for the
workflow process.
Once stored electronically in a
central database, you can give your
employees instant access to that
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information. More than that, by using
workflow, you can push that information
out to employees instantaneously,
automating processes and connecting
people through information.
The mortgage origination process
is a great example. Your loan origination
system (LOS) has an internal workflow
that collects data in the application
phase. Ultimately, the workflow
places loan requests into a status or
work queue where they sit and wait
for underwriters to make decisions.
When underwriters retrieve loans from
the queue, they gain access to all the
information the originators entered. In
most cases, they also receive paper loan
files with supporting documents.
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Step Two | Three Steps to Automated Success
“Our mortgage files are just huge—at least 100
pages of paper each,” says Denise Merkel, AVP
of Data and Financial Services for PyraMax.
“We knew if we could eliminate some of that paper,
we could increase the speed of the lending process
and service to our clients.”
PyraMax did just that. And saved $10,000 every month in paper costs.
This is where enterprise content
management (ECM) helps. Working
behind the scenes, ECM integrates
systems with data from your LOS and
transactional workflows. By letting users
stay in familiar business applications,
they avoid the need to log in and out
of different systems, creating greater
productivity. They immediately find the
documentation they need, when they
need it. And, if done right, that increased
speed and accuracy translates to
superior service.
By using electronic workflow to
move documents forward, you
revolutionize your loan process. Like
Milwaukee-based PyraMax Bank did.
Automated workflow provides
benefits that don’t exist in a paperbased world, seamlessly connecting
people with business-critical documents.
Additionally, automatically receiving,
routing and completing all relevant
documentation speeds up your loan
process so you recognize profits quicker.
Step Three | Three Steps to Automated Success
Connecting Your
Processes to
Optimize Them
Now that we’ve looked at how using
workflow to connect systems and people
ensures stakeholders know the statuses
of important processes, let’s take a
look at how to use workflow to connect
those processes.
Workflow isn’t just a way to automatically push documents through
work queues—it also optimizes your
processes. It does so by using a
framework of consistent rules that
efficiently route electronic documents
without manual intervention. By
presenting users with all related
documents simultaneously, workflow
facilitates business transactions.
That means employees aren’t repeatedly
asking for emails, searching through file
cabinets or waiting for documents.
Workflow also gives you visibility
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into your processes, so you know
exactly where things are and manage
the organization based on real-time
information. That’s the key to connecting
your processes—making sure you’re
sharing current information.
Using workflow increases your
speed and accuracy by eliminating
any variances in the way individual
employees handle processes, therefore
reducing any associated risks. Ensuring
that employees always handle processes
the correct way helps you stay in
compliance with local, state and federal
regulations. Workflow also shows
you real-time document and process
status, as well as historical data, which
saves time and energy when preparing
for audits.
Step Three | Three Steps to Automated Success
Connecting Your
Processes to
Optimize Them
From accounts payable to human
resources and contract management,
workflow expands beyond banking
processes to eliminate paper across
your financial institution. Here’s
how it makes sure work doesn’t slip
through the cracks:
• Automatic email notifications alert
users when their participation is needed
• Configurable timers move documents
through processes without manual
intervention
• Role-based calendars and load balancing
ensure documents are processed
efficiently by available users
Integrate to tie everything together
An important aspect of any document
management system is its ability to
easily integrate with the core banking
system you rely on every day. Integration
ensures compatibility, so your workflows
are automatically forwarding documents
that are usable. That’s why the document
management system you use should also
be able to handle any document type or
file format.
By using advanced electronic
workflow to ensure that the right
people have immediate access to
the right information, you decrease
bottlenecks and keep your mortgages
moving forward. That helps families
move into their homes sooner, keeping
the American dream alive. That’s why
increasing the speed, accuracy and
visibility of your loan process is so
important.
Connecting your systems, people
and processes with workflow helps you
move quickly and accurately without
misplacing documents. That gives
you a competitive advantage in the
marketplace, because your employees
are empowered to focus on customers
and members. And that’s the most
important connection of all.
Learn more at OnBase.com »